Some transactions had failed.
Others had not.
The investigation expanded.
I checked my credit report.
And that was when my hands began shaking.
There was a credit card I had never opened.
Then another.
Both used an old address.
Cedar Ridge.
My house.
The combined balance exceeded $31,000.
I called Martin.
Within forty-eight hours, we had reports filed and documentation preserved.
The addresses and contact details connected back to the house.
But the worst part came when the issuing bank provided historical application information.
The first account had been opened four years earlier.
The applicant had used my Social Security number.
My income.
My former address.
And an email account I did not recognize.
The recovery email belonged to Evelyn.
I sat in Martin’s office staring at the paperwork.
“My mother stole my identity.”
He did not soften it.
“It appears someone used your identity. The evidence will determine who.”
